Tyndale Open Study NotesGenesis 19

The two angels who were with the Lord at Mamre (compare 18:2, 22) went on to Sodom. They knew the people there were very wicked. Even though Lot welcomed them, they first chose to stay in the public square instead of going into his house.

The Canaanites were evil people who tried to corrupt others. God judged their immoral civilization and warned others not to be like them. It was difficult to get Lot and his family out of Sodom. But it was even more difficult to remove Sodom's influence from them.

This chapter helped later Israelites understand the moral and spiritual dangers of the people living in and around the promised land. This included the Canaanites and Lot’s descendants, the Moabites and the Ammonites (see Numbers 22–25; Deuteronomy 23:3–6; Joshua 24:9; Judges 10:7–9; 11:4–5; 1 Samuel 10:27; 1 Kings 11:1–3; 2 Kings 24:2).

• The two angels also first appeared to Abraham as men (18:2).

• Lot was no longer living in tents near Sodom (13:12). He had become a citizen and leader in Sodom, sitting at the city entrance. Community leaders (elders) usually gathered at the gates. This is where they publicly finalized legal and business matters (compare 23:18; Job 29:7, 12–17).

  As a righteous man, Lot tried to guide the people of Sodom to live better lives (2 Peter 2:7–8; compare Genesis 19:9). While he opposed their evil behavior, Lot still chose Sodom’s wealthy lifestyle over the simpler life in the hills (compare 13:10–11). Life in the hills offered fewer temptations and less corruption but lacked the comforts of Sodom.

  As long as the Lord left Lot and his family alone in Sodom, he lived comfortably and kept his belief in God. But, he could not continue living this way. Sodom would have destroyed Lot if the Lord had not destroyed Sodom.

• This story showed Israel that God is the righteous judge of the whole earth (18:25). He punishes evil fairly. In evil societies, wrongdoing leads to unfair treatment and suffering for others.

The evil actions of the men of the city were matched by the hypocrisy of Lot (19:6–9). The men acted in a wicked and violent way toward Lot’s visitors. Lot tried to protect his guests. However, he offered his daughters to the crowd instead. This action showed serious moral failure.

Lot strongly opposed the men’s plan to harm his guests. He spoke against their wicked actions. However, he wrongly offered his daughters to protect the visitors, which showed a serious moral failure.

At first, Lot had only set up his tent near Sodom. Over time, he became closely tied to the city, and its influence shaped his life.

The men of the city became enraged because Lot tried to stop their evil behavior. It was amazing to them that Lot would judge them, since he apparently had not done so before.

Lot’s warning words were not taken seriously because of his hypocrisy. It seemed that there would not be even ten righteous people in the city.

• Lot escaped God's judgment because of God's grace, but Lot was still hesitant to leave Sodom. Israel would forever remember Lot as someone who hesitated and needed angels to pull him to safety. The Lord was merciful and spared Lot because of Abraham (18:23; 19:29).

• Today, people who follow God often feel pressure to copy the wrong ways that many people live. God asks his followers to live differently from people who do not follow him. This means Christians should choose actions and behaviors that show they belong to God (1 John 2:15–17). God will judge the corrupt systems of the world. This judgment will be even more severe than the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Matthew 11:23–24).

Lot asked the angels for permission to live in the small town of Zoar (which means "little place") even after they saved him.

Compare Luke 17:29. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the volcano that destroyed Pompeii in AD 79, along with more recent natural disasters, shows how quickly a complete disaster like this can happen.

looked back: The verb form indicates intense gazing at the world she loved, not just a curious look (15:5; Exodus 33:8; Numbers 21:9; 1 Samuel 2:32; compare Exodus 3:6). Lot’s wife had become too attached to Sodom to follow God's calling. So God judged her as she lingered on the valley slopes.

Christ’s return to judge the world will be as sudden and devastating as Sodom's destruction (Luke 17:32–37). Those who desire the life of this wicked world will lose both this world and the next.

God listened to Abraham's plea (compare 18:23–32). But Lot lost everything during the destruction of Sodom. His choice to live in the fertile land of Sodom eventually led him into a dangerous situation (13:10–13). After this, he could no longer remain in the land he had chosen.

Sodom's culture apparently influenced Lot’s daughters more than their father's values. They had no issues having children with their drunk father because they saw no other way to continue their family line (see 9:21–22).

The poverty of the cave contrasts with the wealth Lot shared with Abram and the good life he lived in Sodom. Abraham would father a righteous nation (17:1), but Lot and his daughters started a new Sodom.

• The daughters' plan worked. They each became pregnant by their father. From these two sons, born from incest, came two of Israel's long-time enemies: the nations of Moab and Ammon. Their extreme wickedness was partly due to their origins.

• Both daughters chose descriptive names for their sons. Moab means "from my father" and Ben-ammi means "son of my people." These names subtly hinted at their actions without making people suspicious who were unaware of the stories.